Turner Classic Movies and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment present Humphrey Bogart: The Columbia Classics Collection. Presented for the first time on DVD, these five films have been fully restored and re-mastered and make Humphrey Bogart: The Columbia Pictures Collection a desirable addition to any classic movie fanís DVD library.

LOVE AFFAIR (1932)Here he is enterprising, modest and occasionally perplexed as a working class aircraft engineer who is pursued and eventually seduced by a wealthy but jaded socialite (Dorothy Mackaill). Typical of the Pre-Code era, the film is notable for scenes of sexual suggestiveness and moments of refreshingly frank dialogue courtesy of Jo Swerling and Ursula Parrott.

KNOCK ON ANY DOOR (1949)A tense courtroom drama with undercurrents of social commentary, this 1949 feature, directed by the great Nicholas Ray, features Bogart in one of his best late career roles. As a lawyer from the slums, he tries to prevent murder suspect Nick Romano (John Derek) from being prosecuted and sent to the electric chair despite damning evidence. Based on the bestselling novel by African American author Willard Motley which inspired the sequel and film, Let No Man Write My Epitaph (1960).

TOKYO JOE (1949)The first American film to be shot on location in Japan since WWII, his gripping thriller finds Bogart as an expatriate American in Tokyo trying to win back his ex-wife (Florence Marly) from lawyer Mark Landis (Alexander Knox) while contending with blackmail and extortion from the former head of the Japanese secret service (Sessue Hayakawa). Directed by Stuart Heisler (I Died a Thousand Times, 1955) with cinematography by Charles Lawton, Jr. (3:10 to Yuma, 1957).

SIROCCO (1951)Set in Syria in 1925 during the French occupation, this period spy adventure follows a black marketeer (Bogart) who finds himself in the middle of a tense standoff between French forces led by Colonel Feroud (Lee J. Cobb) and Syrian rebels and tries to manipulate the situation to his own advantage. Directed by Curtis Bernhardt (A Stolen Life, 1946) and co-written by novelist/screenwriter A.I. Bezzerides (Kiss Me Deadly, 1955) and Hans Jacoby.

HARDER THEY FALL (1956)In his final film, Bogart makes an unforgettable impact as Eddie Willis, a publicist who accepts against his better judgment an offer from a corrupt prizefight promoter (Rod Steiger) to sponsor an untalented boxer from Argentina. An unflinching and powerful look behind the scenes of a brutal sport that scored an Oscar® nomination for Best Cinematography by Burnett Guffey (In a Lonely Place, 1950) and features supporting roles by such famous boxers as Max Baer, Jersey Joe Walcott, Pat Comiskey and Joe Greb.

This wonderful set represents key moments and intervals in Bogart's career - his first starring role ("Love Affair"), his final film role ("The Harder They Fall") and the brief period when he set out to produce his own films through his Santana Productions - towards the end of his contract years at Warners but before his better-known, middle-aged roles as a freelancer ("Tokyo Joe," "Knock on Any Door" and "Sirocco").

The films are superbly restored and on pressed discs; however, Sony and TCM dropped the ball on the packaging design. The first film, "Love Affair," is housed by itself in this digipack fold-out. However, the remaining four discs are stacked two apiece and are held in place at their edges by thick, rigid plastic tabs rather than hubs at the center.

Stacked discs are prone to scratches even with hubs. With this style, it's a guarantee you'll scratch your discs through regular handling (assuming you don't snap them, crack them or they don't arrive scratched).

In my previous review I mistakenly called WE'RE NO ANGELS a Columbia Picture. It was in fact released by Paramount Pictures and is available on DVD with a superb VistaVision transfer! To answer my fellow critical reviewers, I can agree that some of the other previously released and AVAILABLE Columbia films are probably unnecessary to add, mostly due to the fact that they would raise the price. But not including the still never legitimately available cult favorite, BEAT THE DEVIL, they're definitely denying Bogie's fans a flawed but interesting and humorous addition to his canon in which humorous and satirical pictures are the exception and not the rule. If this film had been added, then Bogart's COMPLETE Columbia Pictures releases would be available to his fans and the public. I rest my case!

This release leaves me a handful of films short of a complete Bogart DVD (or if available) Blu-Ray compilation. Keep 'em coming TCM and thank you for your wonderful overall program variety. My two daughters, who didn't care to watch a minute of black-and-white film before, now share an avid interest in all time periods and genres of film, thanks in large part to your programming.

BTW - I agree with the two previous reviewers regarding the complaint. DVD versions of In A Lonely Place and Caine Mutiny have been available for quite some time now. One would think that any serious Bogart fan should already own those films, and be happy for the chance to purchase this set.

I don't understand the complaint of the previous reviewer. Both "In a Lonely Place" and "The Caine Mutiny" have been available for a LONG time on DVD. "The Caine Mutiny" is even available on Blu-ray now. These other films have never been out on DVD before now. He should be cheering.

This review is in addendum to the one posted by Mr. Julien. There are actually 10 movies that Bogart made released under the Columbia Pictures imprint, LOVE AFFAIR, SAHARA, KNOCK ON ANY DOOR, TOKYO JOE, IN A LONELY PLACE, SIRROCO, BEAT THE DEVIL, THE CAINE MUTINY, WE'RE NO ANGELS and THE HARDER THEY FALL. What I'm curious to know is if THE HARDER THEY FALL is in Widescreen (it's been shown that way on TCM), the set is advertised as Full Frame...

This is the first time that someone actually compiles a Bogart set of the Columbia films (some of the best ones hes made). Maybe they will do a Fox box set next, as he actually had quite a few films at that studio.

I'm extremely disappointed that for simply 2 more movies, this could have made the Bogart/Columbia collaboration complete... Of course the majority of the films released by Columbia were produced by Bogart's own Santana Productions. But they left off the unforgettable "In a Lonely Place", as well as Stanley Krammer's "The Caine Munity", for which he was nominated!

Seriously, if it wasn't for two films, this box set could have been something really special and "complete" for once in Bogart's DVD catalog...